Thursday, September 12, 2013

September 12, 2013
My grandson, Jayden, is in high school now. I am very proud of that young
man. I know that I am biased but there are many things of his character
that make me feel that he will be a good man. He is kind, thoughtful, and
caring. Those are all traits that don't just happen. They are also
very good foundations of manhood.
Where he hated middle school, he seems to take his new adventure in high school
pretty well. And his first big test in it is coming in sports....to be
exact, soccer. Both Carrie and I encouraged him to take soccer to stay in
shape for his favorite sport, Lacrosse.
In his last Lacrosse team, his coach tried him out in a new position, Goalie.
Jay hated it. For many reasons, actually. But probably the biggest
being pressure. Jay is a quiet young man. And goalie is the highest
pressure position on the team. When the other team would score on him, he
would take it all on his shoulders and he began to not enjoy the sport.
He tried out and made the JV2 soccer team at Summit High. He enjoys the
team and knows many of the players which helped him smooth out his first few
days of school. Because he is so quiet, he sometimes struggles with first
days of anything new but his transition to high school seemed to be going off
without a hitch.
His first game was last Saturday at Summit against a bigger 6A team, Central
Catholic. Judy and I walked out on the field after the game had already
started. I looked and looked but could not find him on the field
anywhere. That is because I was looking at the wrong place. He was
in the box......goalie.
Knowing how he feels about that position, my heart went out to him
immediately. I spotted Carrie who was over close to him and walked to her
side. She had no idea what was going on also and I could feel the anger
and fear in her voice knowing that he hated the position so.
We watched as the team lost 5-1. We found out later that the coach had
asked for volunteers and one of the other boys had stated that Jay had played
goalie in Lacrosse so the coach volunteered him. Jay did what any good
teammate should do.....go where the coach tells him to go.
Now, since the varsity team had lost 4-2 and they had a seasoned goalie, we all
told him to keep his head up. Other parents who realized on the sidelines
acknowledged his effort also.
So, as I drove him to his game yesterday, we talked about his day....and his
upcoming sporting event. I told him if he knew where he would be
playing. "The coach has been playing me in goal.", he said.
When I asked him if he had told the coach that he did not like the position, he
quickly said yes, but he was trying to be a good teammate and go where the
coach wanted him to go.
We talked of how some of the other players handled him being in the box since
he is not normally there and would have obvious rusty parts of his game.
He admitted that some of them had yelled at him....one in particular.....a
junior.
"That one is easy, Jay", I stated, "just remind him that he is a
junior on the freshman team.". Jay laughed and told me that when the
guy starts his criticism others have made that same statement. I told him
to offer the others to take his place in the box. He just smiled and
shrugged his shoulders. I could see something that I knew oh so well.
Like any other young man in high school, he wanted more than anything else to
be accepted.
"Just play your hardest and you will be fine.", I encouraged as he
stepped out of the car. "I will", he said as he sauntered away
towards his teammates.
So, you can imagine how happy I was when I got to the game and found someone
else in the box and Jay playing his chosen position, forward.
His team went quickly behind by one but then forged on. By the middle of
the second half, they had secured a 3-1 lead. I watched and wondered what
was going on as the coach subbed out but left Jay on the bench. And then,
I saw why as he subbed Jay in......to goalie.
Now I had been watching the Mountain View team and especially this little
player who was quite skillful. I watched him dribble around many of our
players but by brute numbers they had kept him away from the box.
But at the same time that coach put Jay in the box, the Mountain View coach
moved his player from midfield to forward. His first shot on goal was a
high arching shot that sailed over the top of Jay. He had caught Jay just
out of the box and it sailed straight in. If Jay had been further back,
he might have been able to stop the shot but only by deflecting it. I
heard at least one of his teammates chide him for being to far forward.
His shoulders dropped as he assumed his position and made ready to defend the
next charge. And he did not have to wait long for it.
Like a slowed down movie, I could see it all unfolding right in front of
me. The young Mountain View player got the break away that he was looking
for. Jay positioned himself, making ready to block the upcoming shot and
defend his goal. His positioning seemed perfect....but so was the
shot. The player popped it over Jay's head, just out of his
reach. As it came back down, it caught the top of the goal and bounced
downwards and in. No goalie, no matter how seasoned could have blocked
it.
Seconds later, the final whistle was sounded and I watched as he walked back
over to the bench....the final score.....3-3.
As the team jogged over to take their bow, I could see it in his face. He
was taking responsibility and was unhappy. My heart reached out to him
but all I could do was watch.
As the team walked across the field, he walked alone. The disappointment
was evident. I met him part way and we stopped and looked at one
another. I could see it engraved in his face.
"You did a great job out there, son. And don't you let anyone tell
you any different.". "Thanks Papa.", he shrugged as he
walked on off of the field.
I know that adversity builds character but it can also break spirit. The
path is his to take, not mine. I am merely just another one of his
coaches in his game called life.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

September 4, 2013
A good restaurant manager knows his numbers. I learned mine early on.
There are percentages that you work to stay within, then you must sell a
certain amount of covers to break even. And...if you have done your math
right, when you get above that break even point, the profit begins to take hold
and, baring unforeseen problems, the more covers that you have above that break
even point, the more profit that you will make. It is simply spoken,
Restaurants by the numbers.
Now, don't get me wrong, it is only a part of the over all scheme. And,
in my humble opinion, should not be your target goal. The most important
part of a restaurant is that it better serve tasty food in a timely and
friendly manner thus giving the customer a good experience and giving him a
desire to return.
But, if those numbers are not there, no restaurant will survive and thus is one
of the main reasons that so many go under so early in their lives. That
and the fact that the profit margin is quite small. Many young
restaurateurs see all that money coming in to the tills and actually think that
it belongs to you. I preach to my people that only a nickel of every dollar
actually goes in my pocket and generally speaking, that is true.
Every year, I do a certain amount of charity events. It is one of my ways
of giving back to the community that kept me alive. I believe that to be
a variable in yet another mix that all good businessmen should be involved
in. By that, I mean community spirit, believing in particular causes or
organizations, and (even more importantly) showing who you are.
All that being said, a few years back, I decided to give the end of the summer
cruise to a group of people who had become very near and dear to my heart, the
High Desert A's. This group of mainly more senior members (I am one of
the younger) have come to take our diner on as a sort of home. They
invited Judy and I into their group with open arms and even helped us get our
first Model A. I enjoy hanging out with them as I do my veteran brothers
and sisters.....many of them are veterans also but all of them have a strong
love of country.
Last year, at the end of summer cruise, I did not do my job well or
right. The product was right, the atmosphere was right, and the desire
was right.....but....my numbers were off. That and the fact that the
weather did not cooperate (the temperature dropped chasing customers off).
Our numbers were not that bad considering everything. We sold around 140
covers. As usual, most of them were senior sized. I had
placed the price in a what I felt was a good price hoping for around 200.
And, we probably would have made an OK profit if we would have had those
numbers. My other problem was serving a product that we could not use the
left overs for something else. We served ribs which is not what we
normally use in the diner so not easily resold.
This year, we decided to change that and serve Sirloin. Then, whatever
was left over can be cut into steaks or diced into sirloin tips that are used
in sandwiches or breakfast dishes.
But, this time, I also paid more attention to the numbers and priced the
product accordingly.
As the day approached, I began to get quite nervous over the weather. The
weatherman had stated that the day would bring colder temperatures and I
worried that the numbers would not pan out and like last year, I would not be
able to raise any money for my friends. Lingering smoke from a fire also
lingered over the mix. I remember going away during the day with Judy for
a few hours to clear my head. We drove up one of the passes. While
the air was not thick with smoke, it was there and the clouds kept the
temperature down around us. I remember worrying about all of that and
silently praying as we drove back to Bend a few hours before the event.
As the time drew near, the clouds disappeared, the temperature warmed up and my
Model A friends showed up in mass. We had so many cars that we could not
place them all in the line along the trees and had to put a couple in the
middle. Trinity helped me set the helpers in place and I walked around
checking for all of the loose ends that needed to be tied.
As the time drew near, more local cruisers showed up and cards were distributed
to all of them as we had decided to give a plaque away for the first time
(another idea to bring in more cars).
Jimmy got the BBQ going a bit early and the line soon grew first with some of
the Model A club followed close by other car enthusiasts and local veterans and
others who had shown up to support the good cause. Each time we do this,
Jimmy gets better at judging the line and he trimmed back as the line began to
reduce later in the evening.
Around 6, Richard Taelour and his group, the Taelour Project (which I have
aptly named since Richard always brings in a great mix of guys but we never
know for sure who will be there until the event) began entertaining the guests
with their sweet mix of jazz and rock.
Around 7, the crowd had been served and we began to break down the BBQ and the
serving tables as the crowd lingered amongst the cars and the band. Many
sat out in their folding chairs and soaked in the atmosphere while joking and
laughing with their friends. My job was easy......just walk around and
talk to friends. Any problems were small and easy to fix.
Around 7:15, we decided to give away the money for the 50/50 drawing. The
band was on a break and we used the mic to announce the number. The
number was given over and over but no one came. Over $170 was sitting
there waiting to be claimed. Some people felt we should pick another
number but then I realized that we had people inside the building who could
have purchased a ticket. I went into the back room first announcing the number
but no one had it. Going into the main floor, my buddy, Zin was sitting
at the counter. "Did you buy 50/50 tickets?", I asked.
"Yes" came the reply. As I walked past him, I shouted out the
number so the whole floor could hear. "Yes", came another reply
from my friend. I stopped and looked at him looking down at his
ticket. "You have that number?", I asked.
"Yes", he stated a third time. "Well, you might want to go
outside before they decide to draw another number....you have just won!".
A few minutes later, we announced the winner of the best of show. Ron
Robbel brought in his 36 Desota that blew away all competition. Then we
announced our first annual Parking Lot Poker award (something special to thank
the car guys who come in every week during the season). Jerry Paxton of
the group that one of our servers named the "Cool Kids" had won that.
With the awards and money given out, the crowd began to disperse.
Some of them were enjoying the music and stayed behind to relax and
listen. By 8, the band had broken up and we were securing the
event. I helped out a little inside as some of the customers had decided
upon some desert to top off the evening. Close to 9, I drug myself home
and to bed.
The next day, I opened up the bags to look at the numbers. Jimmy
gave me a list of product and amount of man hours that the crew had
added. As I added up the totals, the expense numbers matched up with last
year and at first, I began to get just a bit concerned. But, then a smile
came as I looked at the other numbers. 60 more customers at a slightly
higher price. I had done my job well and will be handing over a check to
the High Desert A's for $600.
Everyone enjoyed an evening of friends, old cars and good music and we had
accomplished our goal of raising funds for the COCC auto scholarships. A
special thanks to Bend Awards for providing our first years trophies and thus
adding to the fun and the bottom line.